Gladiator: Roman Empire and Marcus Aurelius
The Moral Ethics in the Film Gladiator
The film Gladiator is a powerful and emotional film. The hovering theme throughout it is; perseverance, determination, never lose hope. It is a historical film, released in 2000, with factual events and people, taken place in Rome around 180 A.D. There are many characters in this film. The characters are diverse, and are all different from one another. The three main and most memorable characters are; Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Maximus. Caesar Marcus Aurelius is the emperor of Rome, and the overseer of the Roman military. Commodus is the film’s antagonist/villain. The main character and protagonist in Gladiator is Maximus Meridius, who is a vengeful gladiator. He is completely against Commodus, after he sent to have his family killed. Each character has their own set of ethics. A person’s ethics is their moral code and principles. It is
the rules that tell us what to do. The word ethics, comes from the Greek word meaning “character”. Marcus Aurelius is one of the very first characters, which we as the audience, are introduced to in the film. Marcus Aurelius is the emperor of Rome. He is an old man, with a very tired expression. Aurelius oversees the Roman army, and wants nothing but the best for his people. That shows a part of his character. Since, he is a good man; he does make hard but necessary decisions. One of the hard decisions Marcus Aurelius made was; choosing Maximus over his own son, Commodus, as the next heir for emperor. He knew in his heart that his son was not ready for the throne, and would make a terrible emperor. He blames himself for how his son turned out as a man. Commodus is an example of a person with very poor ethics. Commodus is the royal son of emperor Marcus Aurelius. He is spoiled beyond belief. Commodus only cares for himself, and does not think
The film Gladiator is a powerful and emotional film. The hovering theme throughout it is; perseverance, determination, never lose hope. It is a historical film, released in 2000, with factual events and people, taken place in Rome around 180 A.D. There are many characters in this film. The characters are diverse, and are all different from one another. The three main and most memorable characters are; Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Maximus. Caesar Marcus Aurelius is the emperor of Rome, and the overseer of the Roman military. Commodus is the film’s antagonist/villain. The main character and protagonist in Gladiator is Maximus Meridius, who is a vengeful gladiator. He is completely against Commodus, after he sent to have his family killed. Each character has their own set of ethics. A person’s ethics is their moral code and principles. It is
the rules that tell us what to do. The word ethics, comes from the Greek word meaning “character”. Marcus Aurelius is one of the very first characters, which we as the audience, are introduced to in the film. Marcus Aurelius is the emperor of Rome. He is an old man, with a very tired expression. Aurelius oversees the Roman army, and wants nothing but the best for his people. That shows a part of his character. Since, he is a good man; he does make hard but necessary decisions. One of the hard decisions Marcus Aurelius made was; choosing Maximus over his own son, Commodus, as the next heir for emperor. He knew in his heart that his son was not ready for the throne, and would make a terrible emperor. He blames himself for how his son turned out as a man. Commodus is an example of a person with very poor ethics. Commodus is the royal son of emperor Marcus Aurelius. He is spoiled beyond belief. Commodus only cares for himself, and does not think